Auctions - time for a change of heart?

Aug 02, 2016

We have not been shy at expressing our opinions on auctions. They are an agents way of securing a sole agency. Purchasers have to spend time and money on due diligence with no way of knowing they will be in, or even near,the  right price bracket. And they are difficult processes for buyers requiring finance.
But we try to keep an  open mind. If circumstances change , then we should be prepared to change our views. Because one of the virtues of the auction is that it is relatively transparent. Except of course for the bogus phone bidder, and the weirdly named "vendor bid". As if a vendor would want to buy their own property they are trying to sell!

Recently we have seen a number of "tender" processes which make the transparency of auctions seem virtuous by comparison. Enough to change our opinion.

The tender shares with the auction that the prospective buyer must do all their due diligence prior, But very often with even less information available from the vendor.


But then the process varies , and the tender becomes a multi ringed circus. The agent can {and does} give information on competing tenders to their mates. The tenderer who has spent time, money and energy never really knows why or by how much they have been gazumped. Or even if his was the best and fairest tender, but was never actually presented .

So perhaps it is time that we changed, in part, our view of auctions, and at least commend them for their transparency, phantom bids aside.
But then, nothing beats the old fashioned hard working agent matching buyer and seller and helping to thrash out a deal.


Recently Posted